Why you should use Incognito mode on your browser

There are people who might not be comfortable with others finding out about their web activity. This is where Incognito mode can rescue you. Read on to know more about it.

Are you someone who uses the same browser on different devices, like a tablet or laptop? Well, there is no issue with this. But, what if you don’t want your family members, friends or a trusted partner to find out what all you search for on your browser. There are people who might not be comfortable with others finding out about their web activity. This is where Incognito mode can rescue you. It can help keep your browsing private from other people who use your device.

Before we get into this, you should know that the Incognito mode is available on Chrome. If you use this mode, then none of your browsing history, cookies and site data, or information entered in forms will be saved on your device. This basically means that your activity will not be visible in your Chrome’s browser history, so whoever uses your device won’t see your activity. So, for example, if you are shopping online for something, then that activity won’t get saved to Chrome’s browser history or your Google account.

“Browsing in Incognito mode means your activity data isn’t saved on your device, or to a Google Account you’re not signed into. Each time you close all Incognito windows, Chrome discards any site data and cookies associated with that browsing session,” Google says on its support page.

It is better to use Incognito mode than deleting your browser history every time you search for anything embarrassing or sometimes private that you don’t want anyone to find out. Google says that the websites that you visit in this mode see you as a new user and won’t know who you are, as long as you don’t sign in. When browsing in Chrome Incognito mode, then you will also be required to sign in to accounts or sites if you want to use those services, as by default, you are signed out of everything in this mode.

It is pretty simple. There is no complicated process to enable this mode. All you need to do is open Chrome on your smartphone or any other device. You then need to tap on the three-dot button, which is located in the top right corner in the address bar.

A drop-down menu will appear. You can simply tap on the “New incognito tab” option, after which you will be redirected to a new, private tab. The moment you enter this mode, you get notified. Chrome displays a message which explains what this mode can do and says “you’ve gone incognito.”

Your downloads, bookmarks and reading list items will be saved. The Incognito mode doesn’t make you invisible to sites or other services. It doesn’t prevent you from telling a website who you are when you visit it. This happens only when you sign in to any website in Incognito mode, then that site will get to know who is browsing and keep track of your activities from that point of time.